Radiance

Louis Nowra

• Publisher: Currency Press
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781921428968
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Radiance is an exuberant black sabbath for three great Indigenous dames. Cressy, Nora and Mae are half-sisters with little in common except the ghosts of their childhood. They gather in the tropical Queensland landscape for Mum's funeral. These three sisters are a force of nature, and they haven't been in the same room for many, many years. It isn't long before that old house can't contain the joy and pain of them all being together again.

ACT ONE

SCENE ONE

The large living room of a wooden house on stilts. It is late morning and harsh tropical light pours in through the slats in the many shutters. MAE is wearing a dowdy black frock and is lost in thought as she stares at a chair. MAE touches the chair with her foot as if making sure that there is no-one there. As she talks she strikes matches and throws them at the chair.

MAE: Are you still there? You are, aren’t you? I’ll have to burn down this place to get rid of you. Ghosts burn, did you know that? And you’ll burn. It’ll all burn down, even ghosts can’t live in a place that doesn’t exist anymore. I’ll do it. I’ll have the courage. Everything will burn. And then you’ll be gone. The whole world will burn. I’ll hold my hands out, like warming them before a fire. [She looks at a piece of paper in her hand and then at the chair. To the chair] He did the dirty on you. Did the dirty on us both. He’ll see it burning, but he’ll be too late. They’ll see it burning from miles and miles around. Like cracker night. Everything up in flames.

NONA enters wearing what can only be described as ‘a little black dress’. She is also made up as if heading off to a party. MAE, surprised by NONA’s sudden appearance, hides the piece of paper from NONA.

[Shocked] You can’t wear that.

NONA: Why not?

MAE: Not to your mother’s funeral.

NONA: I’m not fully dressed yet. I’ve still got to put on my knickers.

MAE: The dress. I meant the dress.

NONA: What’s the matter with it?

MAE: You’re almost naked.

NONA: If I was I wouldn’t be wearing it. I can’t get by without my little black dress. [She goes to her open suitcase, its clothes are neatly stacked.] You been at my suitcase?

MAE: Just tidying up.

NONA: [scattering clothes] It just makes things harder to find. You got any black knickers?

MAE: [irritated] We’ll never get there!

MAE goes into the other room. NONA holds up an even shorter dress, this time red, against her body.

NONA: [calling out] What about red? Or is that bad taste at your mum’s funeral?

MAE: [off] Yes.

NONA: [half to herself] Is that yes, it’s bad taste, or yes, wear the red? [She throws the dress back on the suitcase and takes out some black high heels. Calling out] I bought these shoes especially for today.

NONA turns on the radio then lifts up her dress and with a pair of tweezers starts to pluck her pubic hair. On the radio is DOYLE, the local priest.

DOYLE: ‘The world is full of temptation. As it should be. Because it is only by confronting temptation that we confront ourselves and become victorious over ourselves…’

MAE: [off] No black, what about white?

NONA: [to herself, incredulous at MAE’s bad taste] White!

DOYLE: ‘The Lord will forgive sin but He will not forgive evil and many people have evil in their hearts. They may not do evil unto others, but they think evil and to think evil is as great as committing an evil deed. There are people in this town, yes, in this very town, who work, shop, play sports; seemingly good, generous people, but in their hearts is evil, evil that festers, evil that thinks evil of others and those people are just as severe sinners as those who commit evil deeds…’

MAE enters holdin...